Enough About You, Let’s Talk About Me

Observations based on a life in politics and working in the U.S. Congress:

Huckabee has known for a long time that he can’t win the nomination. He’s staying in it to wield his delegates at the convention to bargain McCain into the VP spot, or, if he can’t, some juicy cabinet post. Remember, Huckabee is unemployed. He needs a job.

By staying in before Super Tuesday, Huckabee has made it clear that he doesn’t give a rat’s ass about the future of the Republican Party or of constitutional government, for that matter (McDole, sorry, McCain, will destroy both). If he did, he would have dropped out before Super Tuesday and endorsed Romney. Instead, he stayed in, knowing he would draw off votes from Romney, killing his candidacy. Two perceived conservatives against one “moderate,” given the GOP primary vote, means the “moderate” wins. By continuing his candidacy, the Huckster killed off Romney while sucking up to McCain in a patently obvious ploy to be VP.

What he fails to realize is that McCain won’t pick him as VP. Two reasons:

First, he brings nothing substantial to the ticket. He’s McCain’s clone on the key domestic issues of immigration, taxes and spending and on foreign policy, which is, keep spending gazillions of taxpayers’ money on the various wars and in Empire Building.

Second, the vice-presidency, in the words of one who held the office (Cactus Jack Garner) “ain’t worth a bucket of warm spit.” That goes for the VP candidate as well. One of the most seductive political siren songs to presidential nominees is that whom you choose as your running mate means something. You have to “balance the ticket.”

Baloney. History spanks that approach every time. The fact is, nobody casts their vote based on who the vice presidential candidate is. If McCain picks The Huckster, thinking he’s going to get conservative support, he’s picking somebody who agrees with him on almost all the issues conservatives hate McCain for.

(2008-01-30) — Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards today quit the race for the Democrat presidential nomination, and immediately endorsed Republican frontrunner Sen. John McCain.

“As the presidential field narrows, I just didn’t feel there would be room in the race for two white males who favor amnesty for illegal aliens, who opposed Bush’s tax cuts, who believe in global warming and that the U.S. is largely responsible, who support limits on free speech in political campaigns, who have worked to stop conservative judicial nominees, and who think that it’s better that thousands of people die rather than pouring some water up the nose of a terrorist.”

While Mr. Edwards played down speculation that he might bring balance to the ticket as Sen. McCain’s running mate, he noted that it would be “a once-in-a-lifetime thrill to team up with an actual Vietnam war hero.”